James McGovern provides some excellent thought fodder for all enterprise architects as they sit on the beach these holidays (or otherwise) and contemplate the new year. I’d like to add another point to his list.
One very common issue I see across the industry is the gap between “business” and “IT”. The typical – almost ubiquitous- example is of a cultural gap between the “users” and the “geeks”. In its extreme form this gap can break down into a dysfunctional relationship where productivity grinds to a halt. Too often the response of enterprise architects to this gap is to take a defensive position on the IT side of the fence moat.
Enterprise Architecture is supposed to be about engineering the people, processes and systems so they work together to achieve business outcomes. From this perspective, enterprise architects are in a unique position to bridge the gap between business and IT. In fact I would argue it is the core responsibility to act on this manner. Above all, enterprise architects need to first understand the business requirements and then use their unique blend of technical and business knowledge to help IT deliver the required outcomes.
Yes, the real world and realpolitik will always work against you, but the first step is to start with right attitude.